Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Every teacher knows that classrooms are buzzing with excitement on Valentine’s Day. Students are eager to share cards and candy with their classmates; some even have a special someone they plan on giving a gift to. But, unfortunately, on […]
LGBTQ Students
Ask the Educator’s Room: Do I Become Facebook Friends with a Parent?
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Welcome to The Educator’s Room advice column for teachers! Today we’re helping a teacher who’s co-worker is homophobic and transphobic. We’re also helping a teacher who’s student is leaving, but wants to stay in touch. See what our writers have to say, then […]
Ask The Educator’s Room: A Mindset Reset and Protecting Trans Students
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Welcome to our advice column! Today we’re helping a teacher who’s less than excited about teaching a former student. We’re also helping a teacher who is trying to support trans and gender non-conforming students at her Christian school. See what our writers have […]
First They Came For “CRT,” Now They’re After “Gender Ideology”
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Christopher Rufo, the man primarily responsible for leading the conservative attack on antiracist education, is now coming for gender equity. On Wednesday, he published Sexual Liberation in Public Schools, the first in a new “investigative” series on gender. It focuses […]
We Need LGBTQ+ Affirming Schools Now More Than Ever
My High School Made Me Feel Isolated and Ashamed, Today’s LGBTQ Students and Families Deserve Better Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! My Story “How glorious it is — and also how painful — to be an exception.” In 1988 I chose that quote by […]
One Teacher’s Questions for Republican Lawmakers
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Don’t Say Gay legislation. Limiting classroom discussions of “controversial” topics, including many that we simply call “history.” Removing books from school libraries. Requiring online posting of lesson plans and instructional materials. Installing classroom cameras. Banning diversity training. Questioning social/emotional […]
Pronouns: The Least We Can Do for Students Who Identify As Transgender or Non-Binary
Discomfort For Solidarity In a recent staff equity meeting, the concept of staff responsibility in gender pronouns came up. It seemed that everyone there had at least one student who used pronouns that didn’t necessarily align with the sex they were assigned at birth. And, they all fully supported the importance of honoring student’s pronouns […]
5 Things to Consider Before Coming out as LGBTQ+ in the Classroom
By: Tory Waggoner I came out to my students as both queer and gender-nonconforming while working in a district just outside of Portland, OR. I was not prepared for the backlash I faced from colleagues, students, and parents. I thought in the liberal mecca of the Portland metro area that I would be relatively safe, but […]